The present invention relates generally to knife sharpening devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to knife sharpening devices employing a guide member for maintaining a knife blade at a pre-selected angle in relation to a sharpening member.
Knife sharpening devices which are adapted for sharpening a knife blade by insuring that the knife blade engages the sharpening member at a pre-selected angle in relation to the sharpening member are known in the prior art. A number of such related prior art knife sharpening devices provide a feature wherein the knife blade may be inserted between the sharpening member and a guide mechanism such as a guide bar to thereby maintain a fixed angle of the knife blade during the sharpening process. The guide mechanism has a guide surface which is engaged by the back edge of the knife blade. The spacial relationship between the guide surface of the guide mechanism and the sharpening surface of the sharpening member may be calibrated to precisely define the pre-selected angle. The spacial distance between the sharpening surface and the guide surface may also be adjustable by various means to adjustably vary the pre-selected sharpening angles.
McRae U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,910, Jacobson U.S. Pat. No. 2,458,856, Brody U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,455 and Perry U.S. Pat. No. 1,181,161 all exemplify various knife sharpening devices which employ a guide rod or a guide member which cooperates with the sharpening member to provide a pre-selected sharpening angle. McRae U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,910 discloses a knife sharpening apparatus which is adjustable to maintain a knife at a pre-selected angle relative to a sharpening stone during the sharpening process. A guide bar is employed for guiding the back edge of the knife blade. The bar may be shifted to a multitude of pre-selected spacing distances between the bar and the sharpening stone so that the sharpened edge of the blade engages the stone at a desired pre-selected angle. Jacobson U.S. Pat. No. 2,458,856 discloses a kitchen knife sharpener wherein a slot is formed in a housing. A sharpening member is positioned at one edge of the slot and the other opposite edge of the slot functions as a guide member. Brody U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,455 and Perry U.S. Pat. No. 1,181,161 disclose sharpening devices which employ a pair of blade guides positioned at generally opposite sides of a sharpening stone.